Power of Pop
KEVIN MATHEWS

Mike Shupp The Key (Private Mind Records)

Together with Chris Zogby (drums) and Jeff "The Shoes" Murphy (production), Mike Shupp has assembled a strong set of tunes that manages to re-create the strident post-punk alternative college rock that eighties' last standers like R.E.M., Replacements and Soul Asylum 'saved' us with. Which is indispensable because nobody seems to be churning it out anymore. The Key, Shupp's sophomore effort finds the singer-songwriter in confident mood as the cut loose quality of music found on Head On Straight, The Key (the kind of Westerberg-esque rocker that the man himself has struggled to achieve of late), When I Die, Don’t Let Me See You This Way & What Did You Mean indicate that Shupp is able to deliver where other so-called heartland rockers fail.

 
 
 
 
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